


Do We Panic?

by risingtides



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Black Mirror Episode: s04e04 Hang the DJ, Alternate Universe - Future, Blind Date, Dating, F/M, M/M, Technology
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 12:31:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16787005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/risingtides/pseuds/risingtides
Summary: Harry tries Coach for the first time. It doesn't go exactly how he had planned.For Louis, he can't believe it. But - shocker - it doesn't go how he planned.





	Do We Panic?

**Author's Note:**

> I love Black Mirror and this episode so naturally I had to write a fic about it. Insert Harry, Louis, and my own spin on this dating app thing, and out pops this. More to come x

Harry sits down in the rounded booth, smoothing out his jacket as he waits for his date to arrive. He’s been waiting for this day for what seems like a lifetime, watching all his mates get called upon by their Coach for multiple dates in the past few months.

Finally, it was his turn to wait for his soulmate to be thrust upon him.

It was exciting, to say the least, just to start this journey. He was excited to meet all the girls Coach would pair him with and hoped it didn’t take too long to find his soulmate. After all, the system had a 99.8% success rate of pairing someone with their “ultimate compatible other”.

He wondered if she would be blonde or brunette, brown or blue eyes, what her job would be, what her interests are, if she had been dating already. The young lad was beyond ecstatic to meet the first girl. Maybe she would be his compatible other! The thought excited Harry even more.

Glancing at his watch, his date should have been here about twenty minutes ago. Perhaps she was just running late trying to find the restaurant. Or was doing her makeup and lost track of time. Maybe it was her first date, too. _No problem_ , he thought, _It’ll be worth it once she’s finally here_.

So, imagine his surprise when a young man approached his table.

“Mate, I think you’re at the wrong table.” Harry starts with a chuckle. The lad across from him just has confusion awash on his face. Both of their heads glance around the restaurant to see if a woman was sitting alone, but everyone was paired up. The only two that weren’t were… the two of them. “Coach are we at the right table?”

_That is correct_.

“Guess you’re my date then after all, ah?” the unnamed man speaks first, smiling nervously, almost afraid of what the curly-haired man’s reaction would be. He felt warm inside, knowing he was paired with a guy right off the bat. Maybe Coach wasn’t as shallow as he presumed. He didn’t know the system paired up same genders, but by the look of the sitting man, he didn’t know it either. “Well don’t look so disappointed that I’m not some huge breasted blonde you get to ogle at, I’m sure it’s just a fluke, but let’s make the most of it at least!” he goes on optimistically, nervous smile turning to an excited grin as he speaks.

Harry swiftly grabs his glass takes a large gulp of wine, unsure of how to respond to the straight-forward man as he takes a seat across from him. Other diners glance up from their conversations, noticing the alteration in the (supposed, not that Harry would know) usual atmosphere.

“I don’t get what the big deal is,” Louis mumbles across the table to the nervous man, glancing around at the other diners as they start to refocus on their own dates, “Two guys can’t just… hang out? I’m sure this is only for the night anyway!” he goes on, taking a sip from his own wine glass before flashing a beautiful, pearly white smile.

Harry can’t help but chuckle softly, finding the other man oddly charming. He almost felt bad wasting his time, but it wasn’t his fault, Coach must’ve had a stroke or something to pair the two of them together.

“I guess you’re right, we should just enjoy it.” Harry admits as he reaches for Coach to order food, but two plates are set down in front of them already.

_Meals have already been selected for you_ , the female robotic voice informs him as he stares at the food in front of him, glancing up to see Louis’s reaction.

“Interesting… guess I’m a pasta kind of guy.” Louis twirls the pasta around in his bowl with the fork, eyeing up the alfredo.

“Guess I’m steak.” Harry shrugs, happy with the selection.

“Oh, so carnivorous, is that foreshadowing, Coach?” The cinnamon-haired boy laughs before the device responds, _Meal selections are based off personality and personal like or dislike and has nothing to do with sexual prowess,_ to which Harry nearly spits out the first bite of steak in his mouth and the other boy laughs harder.

“You’ve got all the jokes, don’t you?” Harry says once he’s finally swallowed the bite, unable to help but smile at the ridiculous man. He was an interesting one for sure, he could determine that in the five minutes they’ve been sat. He would definitely make any girl happy, so he felt bad that they were wasting each other’s time.

“Who, me or Coach? I hope you mean me,” he adds with another quiet laugh, shoving a forkful of pasta into his mouth, “Oh! By the way, the name’s Louis, pleasure to meet you…?” he trails off, not knowing what to call the man in front of him.

“Harry, it’s Harry, nice to meet you.” The curly-haired man rushes out to fill the awkward pause. Louis nods and looks back down at his meal.

The two sit there in silence for almost the rest of the dinner, just eating and make occasional eye contact. Some small talk is made about where they are from, how old they are, but nothing worth remembering. Coach is sat on the table just a few inches from Harry’s plate, and he can’t stop glancing over to it.

“Should we just get it over with?” Harry suggests, gesturing to his personal Coach while chewing on his last piece of steak. The dinner wasn’t awkward at all, the silence was comfortable, but Harry wasn’t sure if he could do this for more than a few hours.

Louis raises his eyebrows in surprise, pushing his half-eaten bowl away from him, clearly full. “Want to see how quick you can get rid of me, eh?” he jokes, smiling but letting it fall when he sees Harry’s own nervous face in response. “Oh, uh, yeah, I guess… I think we have to tap it at the same time?” Louis grabs his own device from his pocket, swiping the screen a few times until he had reached the desired screen.

“Ready?” Harry is staring at the screen, finger ready to tap.

“Yeah, go.”

The two of them tap on the screen.

_12 hours_

A sigh of relief exits Harry as the short time appears on the screen. “See, it was definitely just a mistake. Only twelve hours!” he can’t help but sound excited. It just meant he could jump right back into this whole dating thing soon.

Louis appears disappointed but attempts to cover it up quickly so that Harry won’t see, but he catches the furrowed brows for just a moment before Louis is back to his cheerful self.

“Guess you’re right after all.” He shrugs nonchalantly, placing Coach back into his pocket. “You all finished? We can, uh, head out for the evening, you know.” Louis continues, referring to the night they must spend together post-dinner. All matches spend time in their own little cottage, whether it be for a few hours or years. Harry nods in agreement.

-

They’re in the middle of nowhere, arriving at a modern house that is already unlocked for the two of them. Harry leads the way, opening the door into a large living room with a high ceiling. All of the furniture looks new and unused. There is a hallway that leads to what he assumes is the bedroom and a small kitchen is attached to the living room. It’s a quaint little place.

_It’s a shame we’ll only be here for the night_ , Harry thinks, in reference to the beautiful home and only a little bit to do with Louis.

“It’s nice here,” Louis comments, walking slowly around the house, trying to fill the silence between them, “I like that lamp.” He points to it, continuing to look around nervously. What the hell were they supposed to do for the next twelve hours?

“The lamp? You like…the lamp?” Harry chuckles, raising an eyebrow. Louis nods in response, shrugging with a shy smile. He can sense his anxiety and Harry would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little nervous too. Louis seemed like a nice guy, but they didn’t exactly hit it off due to the whole awkwardness of the situation. Harry planned on meeting a few beautiful girls before finding the one and starting it off with another man had thrown it off just a bit.

“I’m gonna use the loo.” Louis says a bit too quickly, gesturing awkwardly to the door down the hallway near the bedroom.

“Alright, yeah.” Harry answers even quicker, running a hand through his hair as he continues to walk through the house while Louis scampers off. Once he hears the door shut, he whips Coach out of his pocket, holding it close to his face as he whispers. “What the fuck do we do now? Do we have to… you know…?”

_Two partners are not required to have sexual intercourse during their stay._ The machine answers loudly, to which Harry attempts to cough over the sound of her voice.

“Alright, alright, I got it! But why did you pair us together? Where are the girls like everyone else?” he whispers frantically, afraid Louis would hear him asking these questions.

_The system pairs two individuals based on suspected compatibility based on your preferences. Gender is not always taken into account. Matching will become more accurate as you meet more partners before you are matched with your Ultimate Compatible Other,_ the automated voice continues, giving Harry no relief as he lets out a groan. He hears the toilet flush, shoving the device back into his pocket and moving to stand.

Louis emerges from the bathroom slowly, looking around the bedroom. “Well, don’t be shy, now, there’s only one bed, silly.”

Harry comes in, making his own observations about the room. It was nice, clean, and modern. The bed was king-sized and made, the lighting in the room dim in attempts to set the mood. He chuckles to himself. Out of curiosity, he opens the drawers to the dresser. Inside he finds two sets of pajamas, one for himself and one for Louis, presumably. He grabs the one set and tosses into Louis, who proceeds to drop each piece of clothing on the floor.

“Not very coordinated, eh?” Harry teases, laughing softly as he sheds his dress shirt for the soft t-shirt on the dresser, slipping it over his head. He was in a better mood knowing they would not be together for long. He enjoyed his company, it was oddly comfortable, but he wanted to actually dive into the dating scene.

“Not when I’m being ambushed!” Louis replies, picking the pajamas off the floor. When he stands upright, he sees Harry has shed his dark jeans and was in the process of pulling on the new set of pants. He swallows hard, watching his long, toned legs step into them, making a mental note that Harry had _quite_ the ass. He looks away before Harry can catch him staring, beginning to take off his own clothing in exchange for the provided sleepwear.

Harry quickly clambers into the bed, sliding himself under the covers with Coach in hand, placing it on the bedside table. He glances over to Louis, who’s still in the process of getting changed. He notes the tanned, muscular skin on his back as he changes shirts and finds himself wondering how frequently he works out. Harry looks away when he changes his pants, glancing to Coach’s screen to see the time ticking away. “Just one night.” Harry whispers, assuring himself.

“Say somethin’?” Louis jumps onto the bed also, causing Harry to chuckle and shake his head.

“Oh, nothing important.” Harry switches the lamp light off, planning on just going to sleep, waking up in the morning, saying goodbye to Louis, and moving on with his life.

Louis switches his own lamp off as well, glancing over to see that Harry has closed his eyes. He frowns, wondering why he’s just so eager to get this over with if it was his first match. Not that his feelings were easily hurt or anything, but he thought he was a rather fun person to hang out with, even if Harry felt like he was forced to.

“So that’s it then,” Louis speaks into the darkness, eyes looking up to the ceiling and out of the skylight towards the stars, “Not even small talk? Just wanna get this over with as soon as possible?” he tests, figuring he had nothing to lose if they would never really see each other again after tonight.

Naturally, that made Harry feel guilty. Maybe he was being _too_ dismissive about this. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m being this way.” Harry admits, opening his eyes again, turning his head to look at Louis. “I just… we only have twelve hours anyway. And,” he pauses, trying to decide if he should really say this, but he throws caution to the wind, “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. No need to get anyone’s hopes up.”

Louis stares back at him in the dark, trying to figure out if he just heard what he thought he heard. “You don’t want _me_ to get the wrong idea of _you_?” he lets out a harsh laugh, rolling his eyes, “Harry, dear, we haven’t spoken much this evening because you’ve decided to be a big ol’ stick in the mud about this entire thing. I mean, _sure_ , you’re pretty and all, I won’t deny that, but the way you’re acting doesn’t really make me want to have anything to do with you, if we’re being so honest.” Louis releases a breath he didn’t realize he was holding after speaking, turning to stare back up at the ceiling.

You could say he was a tad annoyed.

Harry doesn’t have much to say after that, pressing his lips together in the awkward silence, turning to stare back up at the ceiling as well. They lay there in silence for a bit, neither too sure if the other has fallen asleep yet but not daring to move.

“Wait,”

“ _What_ ,” Louis snaps quietly, now facing away from Harry has he tries to sleep.

“Did you say I was pretty?”

Louis groans, immediately wishing he hadn’t put that stupid thought in that pretentious boy’s head. “ _Yes_ , I did. But you’re still an asshole.”

“ _Woah_ , already throwing the insults around, are we?” Harry teases, turning his head again where he lay on his back to see if Louis would warm up to him. “Alright, I’m sorry I said that, I didn’t mean it, I don’t know why you’re taking it so seriously…”

“But you _did_ mean it, you’re only taking it back because you know I’m ticked off,” Louis cuts in, flipping himself back around to face Harry, “It’s not like you made a real effort in this anyway, even before we found out the expiration.”

“Because you’re not a _girl_ , I told you that,” Harry explains exasperatedly, annoyed that Louis kept pressing the issue. He had just met him hours ago and he was starting to irritate him, “There’s no way Coach would have us be together for long, the only Ultimate Matches I have ever seen and have ever known are…”

“Straight.” Louis sounds hurt though he hopes Harry doesn’t notice. That’s one awkward conversation he wanted to save himself from. “Nah, you’re right,” he waves nonchalantly, moving to turn away again, “Just a mistake. Goodnight, Harry.”

Harry hears the disappointment but dismisses it. He finally closes his eyes, hoping to find peaceful sleep that night, yet the thoughts don’t stop racing through his head for hours. This was just the first date and, besides, was it really something to get worked up about? No system can be perfect all the time.

“Just a mistake.” Harry murmurs to himself, finally falling asleep after tiring his own brain out.

-

The two wake up the next morning, exchanging only “good morning’s” before proceeding to get dressed in their clothes from the night before, eating breakfast, and waiting outside of the house to watch their expiration time tick down.

_2:00_

“I’m really sorry, you know.” Harry finally grows the courage to lift his eyes from his shoes, looking up at Louis who’s smiling shyly back at him. He doesn’t know if he’s happy to be going or just masking whatever disappointment he was feeling, but there wasn’t enough time to inquire about it.

“It’s okay, really,” Louis forces a chuckle, shrugging, “Look, obviously it’s not meant to be if we only got 12 hours, you know? Nothing to cry about.”

Even if Louis was absurdly excited about this date and even _more_ excited with seeing a young man in the seat across from him. He thought maybe, just maybe, Coach knew what it was doing. He assumed he was gay, at least bi, but he guessed there just wasn’t enough information on him yet for his dating profile. It didn’t lessen the blow, though, and didn’t have him looking forward to future dates if they all turned out to be like Harry.

The two stand in silence for a bit.

_0:30_

“Good luck with… everything, though.” Louis adds, holding his hand out for an awkward hand shake.

Harry stares at it for a second before laughing, shaking his head, “You’re an interesting character, Louis,” grabbing his hand for a shake before reeling him in for a somewhat-forced hug. He pats the shorter man on the back in another awkward interaction, which was truly appropriate for the description of their entire evening, “I’m sure you’ll make one lucky gal very happy.”

Louis’s heart tightens at the comment but smiles up at Harry anyway as they pull away

_0:05_

He gives Harry a little wave, turning around to walk to the car as the time closes out. Harry does the same.

They both hope the next date is less painful. They remain optimistic.

Coach will work it all out.


End file.
